In a commercial building, lifts shape how tenants, visitors and staff experience the property every day. Under-specify and you get queues at 9:30 am; over-specify and you pay for capacity you never use. The right answer starts with how the building will actually be used.
1. Understand the traffic
Estimate how many people will use the building, how many floors they travel and when the peaks are. Offices have sharp morning, lunch and evening peaks; malls have steadier flows; hospitals combine visitors, staff, patients and equipment. A lift consultant or manufacturer can translate this into the number of lifts, capacity and speed.
2. Match the lift type to the job
| Building | Typical lift type |
|---|---|
| Offices, apartments, retail | Passenger lifts |
| Hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostics | Stretcher / hospital lifts |
| Factories, warehouses, logistics | Goods / freight lifts |
| Hotels, malls, premium lobbies | Panoramic capsule lifts |
Many buildings need more than one type — for example, passenger lifts for the public and a goods lift for back-of-house deliveries.
3. Capacity and speed
Capacity is set by peak traffic and by what needs to fit in the car — people, trolleys, stretchers or pallets. Speed matters more as buildings get taller. For reference, Sakshi passenger lifts range from 4 to 26 passengers at 1.0–2.5 m/s.
4. Drive and energy use
Gearless machines with permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) remove the gearbox, reducing friction, noise and gearbox oil maintenance. Over the life of a busy building, energy and maintenance savings can be significant. Machine-room-less (MRL) layouts also free up roof space.
5. Doors and cabins
Automatic centre-opening or side-opening doors suit passenger traffic. Goods lifts may use collapsible, vertical bi-parting or heavy-duty sliding doors depending on loading. Cabin finishes should be durable enough for heavy daily use.
6. Safety and compliance
Expect rescue devices for power failures, door safety sensing, overload protection, overspeed governors and safety gear as standard. Lift standards in India are published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), and approval and inspection requirements vary by state — check current requirements with your local authority before construction.
7. Plan for maintenance from day one
Budget for an Annual Maintenance Contract and agree response expectations for breakdowns. In commercial property, downtime is expensive.
